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My husband is 2 years post successful Ivor Lewis esophagectomy. He started getting slight iron deficiency anemia about 8 months post surgery and it has improved slightly but still persisted despite iron supplementation including sprays with Vit C to help absorption. The levels of iron did not warrant IV supplements. He also suffered from cramps but takes magnesium supplements which seems to have helped. All scans clear and he has a healthy appetite so it seems to be from malabsorption. Recently he’s started to get flaky nails and I think this could also be from nutritional deficiencies such as zinc and he will now consult about this. B12 and Vitamin D levels are good (with spray supplementation) but I think that there may be multiple deficiencies that you can get after esophagectomy, some of which are not apparent immediately.
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@lkovler I have Barretts Esophagus (long) and have been on PPI’s for over 15 years now. (I’m also about to go through a series of esophageal ablations to destroy some cells that have a chance of becoming pre-cancerous in the future).
Ever since the PPI regime, I have had low ferritin levels, but at my most recent annual wellness check-up the blood draw showed a significant drop in hemoglobin and other blood measurements, which has been diagnosed as iron-deficiency anemia. I have been taking iron supplements since I started on the PPI’s, but the iron absorption isn’t occurring correctly.
I’m seeing my first consult with a hematologist this coming week, my GI doctor has recommended iron infusions. I also take B12 and D3 supplements (the B12 dissolves under the tongue so stomach acid isn’t required at all).